Featured Artist: GOOD TIMES & COMPANY //

Midwest rock n roll act, Good Times & Company is releasing “A LOUDER EP” for FREE this week, and we wanted to dive a little deeper into the act. I caught up with the songwriting genius and frontman, Clint Kesinger himself who is epitomizing the lifestyle of rock and roll.

The Frontman/

In my lifetime, I have never met a more unapologetic, yet charming madman than Clint Kesinger. I’ve personally been in too many life or death situations with this man to count. From morally ambiguous evenings spent at our St. Louis flop-house to touring across the country in a piece of crap conversion van aptly named the “Battawagon,” we have shared some incredible experiences. We almost died in the desert from heat stroke, we’ve gotten tangled up in the St. Louis gang scene, and narrowly avoided eviction after hosting some of the best parties the Midwest has ever seen. All along the way, he epitomized the lifestyle of rock and roll. I’ll keep some of the more seedy stories from our past where they belong.

Now, you’re likely wondering what spurred this love fest for Clint and his band of miscreants. Was it a perfectly angled band selfie that has my fingertips watering at their figurative mouths? Was it a whiff of stale pizza, PBR and cheap whiskey that have made my eyes gleam with nostalgia? No. It’s the fact that he’s making the best music of his life in the band Good Times & Company. I gave Clint a call to talk about what we can expect from 2017 and was overjoyed to hear about his new EP.

A Good Time/

My first question to any artist is almost always “Why?” Why do it?! Why take countless hours of your life and invest them in your art? In this case, we’re talking about a rock and roll band with back-alley credentials and the scars to match making distorted, awesome noise. His answer was a simple recipe:

“We get a bunch of twenty somethings in a room, crank it up and party. We just have a great time and we want everyone to be a part of it. And that’s it, that’s why we do it.”

That’s a message I can get behind.

An Aggressive Anthem/

He says, “(the EP) is a reflection of 2016, which was a reckless time for us as a band.” I think I can speak for most Millennials that 2016 was indeed a shit-show for all of us. So why not crank up the volume with Good Times & Company and let some distortion take your nightlife to the next level? He said, “This EP is a more intense, aggressive, heavier take on what we have already accomplished with Different Things…” and “is quite simply the anthem for our own nightlife.”

Living, touring and vacationing with this madman, I can tell you that his type of night life is more intense than what can be shown on cable television. Why am I saying that? Because, if this cat wanted to create a soundtrack to his own party, oh what a party it shall be! I digress. Time to buckle in for my first teaser of the upcoming EP.

The crunchy, bluesy, modern rock tones of Louder ring out immediately. The minimalist three piece band fills the soundscape with immediately memorable riffs and to-the-point melodies. The piercing drum patterns are direct and dancy, but hold a certain finesse. Good Times drummer Kyle Wells and bassist Shad “Fish” Baldes seem to have an awareness of the composition that wasn’t always heard in previous pieces. It’s evident that the band has come together more as a unit and Clint proudly tells me that his bandmates have “become songwriters as opposed to just musicians.”

Reminiscent of the simplistic four on the floor rock beats of Black Keys, Clint pairs vague, Cage The Elephant-esque lyrics that ensure every listener can enjoy these songs. And better yet, they can dance to them. If you’ve ever put Arctic Monkeys or Beck into a playlist, grab your FREE copy of this EP as soon as possible. A rock lover won’t be disappointed.

A LOUDER EP/

“A Louder EP” rules. It’s edgy because it’s so authentically direct. It is rock and roll. End of story. So now I ask why 2017 will be a game-changer for Good Times & Company. He stammers a quick hint that a new album is in the makings, then cleverly changes the subject to SOHO, a Central Illinois music festival who held a polling contest for a headlining act in 2016, which GT&CO won in a landslide. With a smirk that only a deviant rock & roller can deliver, he tells me it is truly their year and we can expect “new merchandise, and bigger & better stage performances.” Powered by the fear of death, the love of whiskey and the ever-growing need to rock, this band is beginning to prove to me that 2017 will truly be a “Good Time.”

By: Vinnie Hines

Here is a little preview: “Killin It” by Good Times & Company

Snag yourself a FREE copy of the new EP with your email address at the link below.